In Focus

Media and the Asian Tsunami

The massive earthquake and subsequent tsunamis devastated a number of communities in a dozen Indian Ocean countries on 26 December 2004. The death toll reached over 286,000 with another half a million people injured and many more homeless. The tsunami proved to be an enormous test, for governments, aid organisations and media. In the first 48 hours relief efforts in many regions were coordinated by the media.

As eyewitnesses to the disaster, journalists had a huge task: to cover the immediate catastrophe, which required reporters to uphold a high standard of accuracy, professionalism and, above all, ethics while, at the same time, maintaining their own peace of mind in an atmosphere of great suffering which had a traumatic effect on survivors and observers alike.

Now, the media must ensure transparent and corruptionfree aid to the damaged regions. This burden will continue to be most strongly felt in hardest hit countries such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka where media also have a special role to monitor the actions of the authorities.

This report from the IFJ gives an overview of the challenges journalists and media organisations face in the aftermath of the tsunami. By raising awareness of these issues we can ensure that the coverage is not only of a high standard, but also that it will contribute to the restoration of the affected regions.